Volvo Ocean Race
Some of the Volvo Ocean Race participants in Baltimore Inner Harbor, United States, in 2006 | |
History | |
---|---|
Established: | 1973 |
Headquarters: | Alicante, Spain |
Title Sponsors: |
Whitbread (1973–2001) Volvo (2001–Present) |
Race Partners: | Inmarsat |
Race Sponsors: | HCL Technologies,[1] MUSTO, GAC Pindar, Cobham, Inmarsat[2] |
Most recent winner: | Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (2014–15) |
Current Race | |
Start: | Alicante, Spain October 2017 |
Finish: | The Hague, The Netherlands June 2018 |
Teams: | 8[3] |
Legs: | 10 |
Yachts Used: | Volvo Ocean 65 |
Similar Events: | Sailing at the Summer Olympics, America's Cup, Vendée Globe, Global Challenge |
Websites: |
www |
The Volvo Ocean Race (formerly the Whitbread Round the World Race) is a yacht race around the world, held every three years.[4] Originally named after its initiating sponsor, British Whitbread brewing company, it today carries the name of its current owner, Swedish automobile manufacturer Volvo Cars and Swedish multinational manufacturing company, the Volvo Group. Presently, the Netherlands holds the record of three wins, with Dutchman Conny van Rietschoten the only skipper to win the race twice.
Though the route changes to accommodate various ports of call, the race typically departs Europe in October, and in recent editions has had either 9 or 10 legs, with in-port races at many of the stopover cities. The 2008–09 race started in Alicante, Spain, on October 11, 2008.[4] The route for the 2008–2009 race was altered from previous years to include stopovers in India and Asia for the first time.[5] The 2008–09 route covered nearly 39,000 nmi (72,000 km), took over nine months to complete, and reached a cumulative TV audience of 2 billion people worldwide.[6]
During the nine months of the 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race, which started in Alicante, Spain in October 2011 and concluded in Galway, Ireland, in July 2012, the teams were scheduled to sail over 39,000 nmi (72,000 km) of the world’s most treacherous seas via Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, around Cape Horn to Itajaí, Miami, Lisbon, and Lorient.
Each of the entries has a sailing team of 9 professional crew (in the 2014-2015 race) who race day and night for more than 20 days at a time on some of the legs. The crew members are required to be more than sailors, some of them will be trained in medical response, sail-making, diesel engine repair, electronics, and hydraulics. There is also a dedicated media crew member who does not contribute to the sailing of the boat. In the 2017-2018 race the number of crew can between 9-11 depending on the gender ratio.
No fresh food is taken on board, so the crew lives off freeze-dried fare; they will experience temperature variations from −5 to +40 degrees Celsius and will only take one change of clothes.[7][8]
History
In 1972 England's Whitbread company and the British Royal Naval Sailing Association agreed to sponsor a globe-circling regatta, which would be called the 'Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race'.
17 yachts and 167 crew started the first race of 27,500 nmi (50,900 km), which began from Portsmouth, United Kingdom on September 8, 1973. Approximately 3000 spectator boats set out to witness the historic start.[9] The first race was won by Mexican amateur Ramon Carlin in a Swan 65 yacht called Sayula II [10][11][12]
The original course was designed to follow the route of the square riggers, which had carried cargo around the world during the 19th Century.[13]
From 2001 the ownership of the race was taken over by Volvo and Volvo Cars and the race was renamed the ‘Volvo Ocean Race’. Stopover ports were added in Germany, France, and Sweden being Volvo's three biggest car markets in Europe.
Winning the race does not attract a cash prize, as the feat of competing is presented as sufficient reward.
Many of the crew in the Volvo Ocean Race race crew other professional teams in other high-profile events, such as Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, the America's Cup, or the Fastnet Race.
The worst weather conditions are usually encountered in the Southern Ocean where waves sometimes top 100 feet (30 m) and winds can reach 60 knots (110 km/h).
The 2014–15 race covered 39,379[14] nautical miles, which is the longest route in its history.[15]
The yachts
The Volvo Open 70 has been replaced by the Volvo Ocean 65,[16] a new class of high performance one-design racing yacht created by Farr Yacht Design and built by a consortium of four European boatyards (Green Marine (UK), Decision (Switzerland), Multiplast (France) and Persico Marine (Italy)).
For the 14th edition of the race, a new one design class will be used - Volvo Ocean 14. It is being designed by Guillaume Verdier and will be built by Persico.[17]
List of races
See also
References
- ↑ "'The Everest of racing'". Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
- ↑ Race, Volvo Ocean. "Inmarsat selected as the Volvo Ocean Race’s Global Satellite Communications Partner for 2017-18 Race". Volvo Ocean Race. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
- ↑ "Volvo Ocean Race - Teams". Volvo Ocean Race.
- 1 2 "United Kingdom - Volvo Car UK Ltd". volvocars.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2009.
- ↑ "Volvo Ocean Race - Race Schedule". Volvo Ocean Race.
- ↑ "Volvo Ocean Race - Marketing". Volvo Ocean Race. Archived from the original on 2 August 2008.
- ↑ Volvo Ocean Race (2014-10-21), Life at the Extreme - Ep. 2 - 'Time to say goodbye' | Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15, retrieved 2017-02-23
- ↑ Moynihan, Tim. "Grueling 39K-Mile Yacht Race Tests the Sanity of Cramped Crews". WIRED. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
- ↑ "Volvo Ocean Race - History". Volvo Ocean Race.
- ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/11/sports/sailing/ramon-carlin-casual-sailor-who-won-a-round-the-world-race-dies-at-92.html?_r=0
- ↑ http://www.theweekendsailor.com/
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4880942/
- ↑ "Volvo Ocean Race – talkSailing". talksailing.co.uk.
- ↑ "2014-15 - 10 ports, 40,000 miles". Volvo Ocean Race. Archived from the original on 18 August 2013.
- ↑ "Volvo Ocean Race to stop in Newport, RI". Yahoo!. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
- ↑ "The Volvo Ocean 65 – cool design, emotional impact". Volvo Ocean Race. Archived from the original on 25 June 2014.
- ↑ "New One-Design for the Volvo Ocean Race". www.sailingworld.com. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
Further reading
- Danger on the high seas – whales, debris and weather just some of the obstacles in the Volvo Ocean Race - Steve Elling, The National, 9 October 2014
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Volvo Ocean Race. |